BEIJING
– Kids' clothes made in China's two largest children's wear production
bases contain hazardous chemicals that pose potential health risks for
children, says a new report by the environmental group Greenpeace.
The
report urges Beijing to cut toxic residue in China-made clothes — many
of which are exported to Europe and the USA — by establishing proper
chemical management regulations.
The Greenpeace study, citing
laboratory analysis of 85 samples, found that some of the clothing made
by two garment makers contained NPE, a hormone disrupter, and antimony, a
chemical element used in making bullets.
Authorities are not taking action to tackle the problem, said Lee Chih An of Greenpeace East Asia in Beijing.
"We want to put more pressure on the government, to tell them there is urgency for change," Lee said.
China is the world's largest garment exporter, and kids' wear is one of its fastest growing sectors.
The
two clothing centers investigated, Zhili town in eastern Zhejiang
province, and Shishi city in southern Fujian province, account for 40%
of China's total production of children's clothing, according to
Greenpeace. Shishi exports up to 80% of its output, mostly to the Middle
East, but also Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.
Even
the Chinese government's quality control watchdog agrees that kids'
clothes can be dangerous. The Defective Product Administrative Center of
China's General Administration of Quality Supervision issued a consumer
guide to parents in May advising parents to "buy light-color kids'
clothes, without fluorescent brighteners or pigment printing."
A sample survey by the Beijing Consumer Association in June found 38% of children's clothes did not meet quality standards.
China's
management of textile chemicals lags the European Union's by 20 years,
said Zhang Miao, a toxics campaigner at Greenpeace. "We can't say that
any brand has zero problems" of toxic residue, she said.
Previous
Greenpeace studies exposed larger Chinese and foreign brands; this
report focused on small and medium-sized enterprises because they
represent the bulk of the industry. Such enterprises supply increasingly
popular online businesses such as the Taobao.com retail site, Zhang
said.
Some of the tested samples illegally used images of iconic
U.S. characters such as Mickey Mouse. The report said third-party,
independent laboratories found more than half of the 85 tested samples,
all made in Zhili or Shishi, contained NPE and nine in 10 items made of
polyester tested positive for antimony.
Phthalates, known for
their toxicity to the reproductive system, were found in high
concentrations on two samples, according to Greenpeace.
An
Yiheng, vice secretary general of the children's wear committee at the
China National Garment Association (CNGA), declined to comment when
contacted Tuesday by USA TODAY. The CNGA is a state-run body for China's
clothing industry.
Beijing housewife Zhang Xue, whose daughter is
2½, said she feels "pain in her heart" whenever she reads about toxic
children's clothes in China.
"All I can do now is to wash my
daughter's new clothes many times and put them in the sunshine for
several days, as well as buying more light-color clothes," said Zhang,
28. "I wish the quality standard in China could be stricter like in
foreign countries, so I could worry less about my girl's chances of
getting sick."Contributing: Sunny Yang